Editorial: Raising age for youthful offenders important step for Connecticut

Published 6:16 pm, Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Connecticut’s effort to revamp its juvenile justice system to become more rehabilitative and less punitive took a major step forward when the Judiciary Committee approved a bill that will be important if that effort is to be successful.

Senate Bill 18, would, in most cases, raise the age at which people are tried as adults to 21 by allowing 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds to have their cases heard within the juvenile justice system, as opposed to adult court.

The new “young adult” designation would mean their cases would be sealed from the public, they will be able to keep their name out of the news media, be subject to no more than four years of incarceration, and have their records erased four years after their conviction as long as they complete their sentence.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has pushed for the legislation as part of his Second Chance 2.0 legislation to reduce incarceration for non-violent crimes. Here in Connecticut, a recent poll of 500 adults found 61 percent of voters supported a more rehabilitative system.

There is good reason.

Last year, 11,000 people aged 18, 19 or 20 were arrested in Connecticut; nearly 75 percent of the cases were for misdemeanors. That’s a lot of people who arrive at the doorstep of adulthood stigmatized by a criminal past and a lot of resources that may be misdirected.

Advances in science have allowed medical experts to peer into the brain to study and unlock human behavior and find out how we tick. With each new advancement or breakthrough, we learn more about the who, what, where, when and how of us and the complexities of the human brain.

Science is now telling us that the brain doesn’t finish developing until the mid-20s, and that has lawmakers across the country rethinking the way they are handling juvenile crime.

But while the science is there, it’s a tough pill to swallow for many people.

Some see it as a license to break the law that comes with a get-out-of-jail-free card and have serious doubts about 18-,19- and 20-year-olds not understanding right from wrong.

State Sen. John Kissel, who voted against the bill, agrees crime must be reduced but the Enfield Republican thinks this should be achievable “without throwing a cloak over the court system.”

Government transparency is critical, and any measure that detracts from it is a concern. But in this case we think that concern is overridden by the benefit of giving young people who have committed minor crimes a chance to move on with their lives, unfettered by their past, after they pay for their offense.

The bill now has to get through the House and Senate to reach Malloy’s desk.

Young people make mistakes. That’s part of life. Those mistakes should not be hurdles preventing them from becoming responsible, productive adults. This bill goes a long way to help ensure that path is clear.